Timothy Philip "Tim" Pons

Timothy "Tim" Philip Pons, 49, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005, at UNC Memorial Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was born Dec. 24, 1955, in Boston, Mass., to Theodore E. Pons and Frances Paschal Pons. Tim was preceded in death by his mother, Frances Pons; and his brother, James Edwin Pons. After graduating from Dudley High School in 1974 and UNC-Greensboro in 1979, he attended Vanderbilt University, where he completed his Ph.D. studies in psychology/neuroscience. Prior to moving to Winston-Salem, Tim worked at National Institutes of Health as a postdoctoral Fellow, staff Fellow and chief of the unit on Functional Anatomy of Somatosensory Cortex. In 1993, he came to Wake Forest University School of Medicine as the director of research in the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Pons was instrumental in the development of a multidisciplinary program in rehabilitation after stroke, which helped to develop techniques to treat people with brain damage. During the course of his career, he became a world-recognized researcher and was invited to present his work at numerous international conferences. Tim published more than 100 journal articles, abstracts and book chapters. He frequently served as a journal referee for professional publications and was on the editorial board for the Journal of Neurophysiology for many years. He is survived by his two children, Alex Pons and Katie Pons of Winston-Salem; his father of El Paso, Texas; his sister, Patty Jo Burns of Greensboro; a niece, Megan McKeown of Manassas, Va.; his niece and nephew, Amber Burns and Edwin Burns of Aurora, Ohio; his uncles and aunts, Joseph and Geraldine Paschal of Rural Hall, Tommy and Gail Paschal of Browns Summit and Sunny and Sybil Woods and Dorothy Paschal of Pleasant Gardens; relatives in New Jersey and Florida; his very close friends, Roger and Kathleen Webster; and many others. Tim will be remembered fondly for his optimistic outlook on life and his sense of humor. A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. today, Jan 22, at Voglers Reynolda Road Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the American Liver Foundation, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 603, New York City, N.Y. 10038, online at LiverFoundation.org Tim's family and friends would like to express their appreciation to the medical staff of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center 4C-ICU and UNC Memorial Hospital Medicine ICU for their care and compassion during this difficult time.